Tray



Oct. 24, 1939.A J. A.y MAXWELL ET AL TRAY 4 Filed March 20, 1939 u"Ill/lll.vI/llllll/Ill/llllllll/ llllllllfll//llllllllll/A 40 thereon,21 so that when the tray 25 is in extended posi- 40 Figure 2 is asectional view taken on the line tion, the rear wall 28 will have theupwardly 2- -2' of Figure 1, projecting portion thereof engage against`the Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tray and inner edge of thesupporting bar 2|. In this mounting means therefOr, and manner thesupporting bar 2| will limit the ex- 45 Figure 4 iS a fragmentarySectional View taken tension of the tray 25. The supporting bar 2| is 45on the line 4-4 of Figure 2. so positioned in the supporting memberl I4rela- Pategnted .24, 1939 d 2,177,575

,QUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAY Joseph A. Maxwell, Owen S.Crosthwaite, and

Claude L. Duggan, Drew, Miss., assignors of one-fourth to Oley P.Go'och, Cleveland, Miss.

Application March 20, 1939, Serial No. 262,982

3 Claims. (Cl. 311-21) This invention relates to trays and particu- Inorder to provide a means whereby a tray larly to a tray adapted to bemounted on the structure-may be supported beneath the glove interior ofa motor vehicle. compartment I2, I have provided a box-like sup- Anobjectof this invention is to provide an porting member I4 whichincludes longitudinal 5 improved tray and supporting and attaching orside walls I5, an inner end wall I6, a bottom 5 means therefor so thatthe tray may be readily I1 and a front or outer wall I8. The front wallsecured to the present parts of a motor vehicle I8 is transverselycurved so as to conform subwithout affecting the present parts of thevehicle. stantially to the curvature of the panel or dash- Anotherobject of this invention is to provide board I0, and each side wall I5of the support- 10 in a tray an improved supporting means thereingmember I4 is provided adjacent the forward l0 forA in the form of asupporting bar which is or front end thereof with an arcuate recess orprovided not only for the purpose of securing cutout portion I9conforming to the curvature the tray to the dashboard of a motor vehicleof the flange II so that the side walls I5 will but also for the purposeof providing a guide snugly engage* the underside of the flange II.

l5 means for guiding the tray in and out and also v The side walls I5adjacent the forward end l5 for holding the tray in-.a substantiallyhorizontal thereof are each provided with a rectangular position, inaddition to limiting the outward opening which is adapted to bepositioned submovement of the tray.' stantially below the flange and anelongated Afurther object of this invention is to provide traysupporting bar 2| is extended through the 20 an improved tray structureof this akind which openings 20 4and has the opposite ends thereof 20 isexceedingly simple in construction so that it projecting laterally orbeyondfthe side walls I5. may be manufactured at a relatively small costA pair of attaching bolts 22 are extended through and can be easily andquickly applied beneath openings 23 provided in thevextended end porthedashboard and glove or article compartment tions of the supporting bar2| and are then exat rpresent forming part of the motor vehicle. tendedthrough openings provided in the flange 25 Embodying the objectsaforesaid and others II. A nut 24 is threaded onto the bolt 23 and whichmay hereinafter appear, the invention conmay engage on the upper side ofthe flange I I, or sists of the novel construction, combination and ifdesired the bolt 23 may be reversed with the arrangement of. parts aswill be more specifically head thereof engaging the upper side of the 80referred to and illustrated in the accompanying flange II and the nut 24engaging on the under- 30 drawing, wherein is shown an embodiment of theside of the bar 2|. invention, but it is to be understood that changes,A tray structure 25 is disposed Within the supvariations andmodifications may be resorted to porting member I4 and is provided witha bottom which fall within the scope of the invention as wall 26, sidewalls 21, an inner end wall 28 and 85 claimed. v a forward or front wall29. The bottom wall 26 35 In the drawing: of the tray 25 is adapted toslidingly engagev the Figure 1 is a detail front elevation of a vehiclebottom I1l of the supporting member I4 and prefdashboard having a trayconstructed according erabiy the rear wall 28 has a height substanto anembodiment of this invention mounted tially greater than the height ofthe side walls Referring to the drawing, the numeral III desigtive tothe tray 25 so that the upper edges of the nates generally a dashboardwhich in the present side walls 21 of the tray will slidingly contactmotor vehicles is constructed of metal and is prowith the underside ofthe bar I4. In this manvided at its lower edge with an inturned flange|I. ner the supporting bar I4 will not only limit the 50 The dashboardI0 is provided with a compartextension of the tray 2-5, but will at alltimes supment I2 in whichlvarious articles are adapted to port or holdthe tray 25 in a horizontal position. be placed and the flange |Iextends inwardly be- The forward wall 29 of the tray 25 is transneaththe compartment I2. The flange is versely curved so as to conform to theconguratransversely curved as at I3. tion of the front Wall I8 of thesupporting mem- 55 ber Il and a knob '30 is secured in the longitudinalcenter of the front wall 28.

In the use of this tray structure, the supportlng member I4 is securedby means ofthe bolts 23 beneath the dashboard I0 to the ilange il. Thebolts 23 will firmly hold the supporting member il in a horizontalposition although ii' desired an additional support may be providedrearwardly of the forward end of the supporting member I4. The tray 25is provided with relatively narrow or shallow side walls which are ofsuch a height as to prevent articles from sliding oil.' of the bottom26. When the tray 25 is in fully extended position, the rear wall 28will be in contacting relation with the supporting bar 2|. At this time,the side walls 21 of the tray will also be in contacting relation withthe underside of the supporting bar 2| and the bottom 26 of the traywill be in contact with the bottom l1 of the supporting member.

With a construction of this kind, the entire tray and supporting meanstherefor with the exception of the bar, may be made out of sheet ,metaland due to the relatively simple construction of the tray and the partsassociated therewith the entire structure can be manufactured at arelatively small cost and can be easily and quickly applied to thepresent parts of a motor vehicle without affecting the condition orarrangement of such vehicle parts.

We claim:

1. A tray for mounting beneath the dashboard of a motor vehiclecomprising a guide plate, upstanding side walls carried by said plate,an upstanding end wail carried by said plate, each of said side wallshaving an elongated opening therein adjacent the forward end thereof, anelongated flat'bar extending through said openings and projecting ateach end laterally of said side walls, a front wall carried by saidplate provided with an elongated opening, and a tray slidable on saidplate through said opening, said tray engaging between said bar and saidplate, the

under surface of said bar holding said tray in horizontal position.

2. A tray for mounting beneath the dashboard of a motor vehiclecomprising a guide plate, upstanding side walls carried by said plate.an up- 5` `standing end wall carried by said plate, each of der surfaceof said bar holding said tray in hori- 15 zontal position, and anupstanding part carried by said tray at the inner end thereof engageablewith said bar upon extension of said tray to limit the extension of Saidtray.

3. A tray for mounting beneath the dashboard 20 of a motor vehicle,comprising a guide plate, upstanding side walls carried by said plate,said walls each having an elongated opening adjacent the forward endthereof, a front wall carried by said plate having an elongated openingtherein, 2.-, an elongated supporting bar extending through saidopenings in and beyond said side walls, means securing the extended endsof said bar to the dashboard, that portion of said bar between saidwalls being spaced from said guide plate, a 3o tray slidingly engagingsaid plate between said bar and said plate. said tray comprising a bot'-tom, upstanding side members, afront member, and a rear member having aheight greater than said side members and adapted upon extension 35 ofthe tray to engage against said bar to thereby limit the extension ofthe tray, the upper edges of said side members slidingly engaging theunder side of said bar and coacting with said plate to hold said tray ina horizontal position.

JOSEPH A. MAXWELL. OWEN S. CROSTHWAITE. CLAUDE Lr'DUGGAN.

